On Wendt's Constructivism

In the mid-1980s , the changes in international politics and the end of the Cold War. The theory of International Relations faced a great challenge. The community of international relations had aroused the great debate, it had provided an opportunity to the rise of the new theory. In the great debate, a group of scholars draw on other disciplines' ideas and methods, while absorbing the academic achievements of the previous non-mainstream scholars. They establish their own the theoretical system which based on thinking about the reality and reflecting academic resources . It is Constructivism that emphasize construction of human society. There are many streams within Constructivism which unable to speak with one voice.American scholar Alexander Wendt put forward the Identity Constructivism that based on their predecessors, and develop a more complete theoretical system of the International Politics. Constructivism had made a three—cornered situation with Neorealism and Neoliberalism .Wendt absorbed academic resources from sociology, philosophy, linguistics and other disciplines. Wendt break leading situation of the economic research methods. He looked at International Politics from the sociological point. Wendt not only emphasized on the macro level study, but also did not neglect the micro-level study. The states live in the international system which shape the states, the states also support the international system . Wendt emphasized anarchical cultural structure . There are three anarchical cultures which are Hobbesian Culture , Lockean Culture and Kantian Culture. The states treated others as the enemy,rival, friend. At the same time, the states are also agents. The identity which the states treated others constitute corresponding anarchical culture. Therefore, there is an ongoing two-way construction between the cultural structure and agents. Anarchical culture constitute identities and interests. The agents make s deal depend on their identities. The behavior of agents constitute corresponding cultures.There are also many problems in Wendt's thoughts, such as ignore the non-state actors in the era of globalization, sometimes incorporate the fundamental antagonism together forcibly, and make the abuse to the concept of the culture . But Wendt's theory has injected new vitality into the study of International Politics, and expand our research horizons, and enrich the methods to studies of International Politics.